Viewpoint: Protect public against dangers of ridesharing

Recent incidents across the nation have vividly demonstrated just how unsafe Uber and Lyft are. Seattle should pay attention.

When the Seattle City Council votes March 17 to regulate Uber, Lyft and Sidecar, it should act to protect the public against the dangers of these unregulated transportation companies and to safeguard taxi service for Seattle’s underprivileged and disabled communities.

Uber’s low-cost service by amateur drivers, UberX, and a similar service called Lyft, are taxi companies — regardless of the fact that hailing their vehicles involves new technology. Because there are clear risks when individuals are transported in automobiles by strangers, the regulation of taxicabs is a necessity of long standing.

More and more cities are finding out that UberX and Lyft have neglected key parts of these basic safety requirements. For example, neither UberX nor Lyft provides public law-enforcement background checks, which use state-of-the art FBI fingerprinting and updating. Instead, they use a cheaper variety of background check that has resulted in UberX passengers allegedly being assaulted by convicted-felon drivers.

Neither UberX nor Lyft drivers possess commercial insurance to protect passengers, drivers and pedestrians whenever these companies are in operation. The insurance these unregulated companies use is riddled with coverage loopholes, and the proposed insurance coverage for Seattle is no different. Sadly, these gaps became national news when a 6-year-old girl in San Francisco was killed by an UberX driver on New Year’s Eve. Although the driver informed police he was working for UberX, the company refused to accept responsibility for the child’s death on the grounds that the UberX driver was not carrying a passenger at the time of the alleged incident.

This is atrocious. Unless lawmakers act, the story of this San Francisco child and her uncompensated family will become a Seattle story. Legitimate taxi companies possess insurance that covers them any time a driver is on duty and even when he’s not. New regulations should require UberX and Lyft to possess commercial insurance and prevent this disastrous coverage loophole.

Ensuring that all taxi companies follow the same set of regulations benefits all Seattle communities — particularly its underprivileged and disabled. Here’s why: Taxicabs are an essential component of public transportation. Many poor and disabled people don’t own a smartphone or even credit card. They use taxis regularly for necessary activities such as going to the grocery store or a medical clinic. Typically, these fares aren’t profitable. UberX and Lyft purposefully target wealthier areas and do not provide wheelchair-accessible services.

The Seattle City Council should consider the numerous drawbacks involved in creating a two-track system for taxicab service. By regulating UberX, Lyft and Sidecar in the same manner that traditional taxicabs are governed, the Seattle public will not be placed at physical risk, and its low-income neighborhoods and disabled people will not be subject to a precipitous drop in the quality of taxi service for this essential public-transportation component.

ROBERT WERTH is president of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association.